There are over 382,000 people experiencing homelessness in the UK – what will it take to end it for good?
In December 2025, the government released its long-awaited strategy to end homelessness. For the team here at Simon on the Streets, it was long overdue – we were more than ready to welcome any plan with a long-term commitment to preventing homelessness before it even begins.
However, while the strategy shifts from crisis management to prevention (promising 300,000 new social homes as part of that), it could be said that it misses key opportunities to end homelessness for good. But why?
The housing benefit freeze
Currently, only 2.7% of homes across the country are affordable for people relying on housing benefits. Local Housing Allowance (LHA) often doesn’t cover the full cost of rent, and, as a result, people are making up the difference in rent with other benefits.
The freeze is forcing families into extreme poverty and is leaving many facing homelessness. Tenants who can’t cover their rent fall into arrears, are threatened with eviction, and some are trapped in a vicious cycle of temporary accommodation.
Despite this, the Government’s strategy hasn’t committed to unfreezing the housing benefit, instead saying that it will be ‘kept under review’.
Housing First – an opportunity missed?
Housing First is an approach to ending homelessness that provides immediate, permanent and stable housing without preconditions (for example, sobriety, or an assessment to prove someone is ready to be housed). The first step is to provide housing first, then support them as they settle and overcome any issues that might have led them to homelessness in the first place.
Housing First has already worked in countries like Finland, where homelessness has been virtually eradicated, but has never been truly tested on a national scale in the UK.
The government’s strategy to end homelessness highlights the Housing First model, but doesn’t commit to expanding it nationally or funding it. We can’t help but feel we’ve missed a real opportunity here.
What does ‘prevention’ mean?
The definition of ‘homelessness prevention’ in the strategy isn’t very clear, and it certainly doesn’t provide anything concrete to measure progress against.
Councils across the country are already stretched for resources. Without a clear, shared understanding of what ‘prevention’ means, the risk is that things get misinterpreted, and that any support offered is inconsistent – something entirely at odds with the idea of prevention.
The social housing lottery
As the Government plans to build 300,000 more social homes, the question remains: will they go to the people who need them most?
There’s no guarantee that new homes will be specifically allocated to people experiencing homelessness. In fact, just 27% of of social housing rentals are allocated to homeless households here in England. It’s essential that those people experiencing homelessness are prioritised.
The right direction, but is there a roadblock?
Ultimately, the government’s plan to end homelessness is going in the right direction, and it’s certainly better than nothing at all. But big ideas alone won’t fix the emergency we find ourselves dealing with – we need decisive action, too.
We’ll be watching the progress carefully and continue our vital work bringing an end to homelessness for good.